An Advising Team: Greater Than the Sum of its Parts NACADA Region 1 - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

An Advising Team: Greater Than the Sum of its Parts NACADA Region 1 March 9, 2016 Session #3.8 Diane Ronchetti Cooper, Christina Chandler, Merlyn Mayhew, Marie-Maude Petite-Frere, Pamela Saideh Smith 1

Introductions • The Assistant Director Team • Diane, Christina, Merlyn, Maude, Pam • Different programs, common focus • Lesley University • Private institution based out of Cambridge, MA. Founded in 1909. • Population of approximately 2000 undergraduate and 4500 graduate students. • Offers on campus, off-site, online, and low residency programs. • Four distinct schools; signature areas in Education, Human Services, and the Arts. 2

Social Interdependence Theory Graphic adapted from The Foundation Coalition: http://www.foundationcoalition.org/ Grounded in Gestalt Psychology: The Whole is Greater than the Sum of its • Parts Meaning making: “If you want people to build a ship, awaken their desire • for the ocean.” (Antoine de Saint-Exupery) Goal structure  Group tensions  Type of interactions  Group outcomes Five essential elements of cooperative learning • 3

Positive Interdependence • Positive interdependence = positive correlation for goal obtainment • Structure: • Outcomes: What are we getting? • Means: How are we getting there? • Boundaries: Who is feeding off of whom? • Results in promotive interaction 4

Face-to-Face Promotive Interaction • Positive interdependence helps the individual generate a sense of personal investment in their group. This, in turn, creates synergy within the group. • How group members interact with one another in order to accomplish the group goal. • Broadly characterized by effective and engaging collaboration, and through the sharing of necessary resources (knowledge and tangible materials). • Interaction is only as successful as the contributions of the individual members of the team. 5

Individual Accountability What is individual accountability in a team? • “Individuals learn to do something together so that they can do it more easily • on their own.” – Johnson & Johnson Individual accountability is equally as important as group accountability for • effective collaboration. “A sense of accountability to the team creates an incentive for individuals to • provide help when needed.” – Boundless Management: Accountability in Teams Important elements: knowledge, voice, shared purpose, trust and willingness to • collaborate, support/encouragement for professional advancement Challenges & benefits • The nice thing about teamwork is that you always have others on your side.” • – Margaret Carty 6

Social/Interpersonal Skills • Verbal and non-verbal forms of communication • Perception – flow of communication – attitude of team – overall productivity • Group roles and dynamics • Self-awareness • Balance/ group subtleties • Conflict management 7

Group Processing • Clarify goals • Support personal strengths and recognize challenges • Communicate clearly; respect influences overall performance • Support ideas and new learning • Recognize differences with advising styles and techniques • Improve upon oneself to benefit the common good of the advising team 8

In Summary Tips and takeaways for promoting group goal success: • Clearly understand the overarching goal of your group (i.e. • student success) as well as the tactical goals (i.e. orientation planning, course sequencing, etc.). Recognize the varying structure of different groups and be • cognizant of/encourage the strengths of each member. Respect differing opinions, assume good intentions, actively • listen with an open mind and provide support. Encourage each other/yourself to remain flexible, and • expressing challenges and dissenting opinions in order to make improvements. What insights did you draw from the Social Interdependence • Theory and the work that you do at your schools? 9

Resources Johnson, D.W. (2003). Social interdependence: Interrelationships among theory, • research, and practice. American Psychologist, 58 , 934-945. Johnson, D.W., Johnson, R.T., & Smith, K. (2007). The state of cooperative learning in • postsecondary and professional settings. Educational Psychology Review, 19 , 15-29. Johnson, D.W. & Johnson, R.T. (2009). An educational psychology success story: • Social interdependence theory and cooperative learning. Educational Researcher, 38, 365-379. Stanne, M., Johnson, D.W., & Johnson, R.T. (1999). Social interdependence and • motor performance: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 125 , 133-154. The Foundation Coalition: http://www.foundationcoalition.org. “Positive • Interdependence, Individual Accountability, Promotive Interaction: Three Pillars of Cooperative Learning.” 10

Thank You! • Please email us with any thoughts or questions! • Diane Ronchetti Cooper: dcooper@lesley.edu • Christina Chandler: cchandle@lesley.edu • Merlyn Mayhew: mmayhew3@lesley.edu • Marie-Maude Petite-Frere: mpetitf2@lesley.edu • Pamela Saideh Smith: psmith@lesley.edu 11

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